War Jack
by Smaugtheterrible
Summary: One night in October, Batman stumbles across an old abandoned mansion, with clockwork beasts and their master inside. But once he enters, is what he will find, really what he expected? War Machine/Young Justice Crossover. Might turn into an idea vault later.
1. Chapter 1

_WarJack DC/Young Justice-War Machine crossover_

 _War Jack_

Batman blinked in shock. He had been tailing some low level thugs who had been burglarizing homes and businesses in the area, when they had left the area, and heading to progressively older, and more run down sections of old Gotham. Until eventually they stopped at a small hill, at the top of the hill was a massive mansion that had seen better days, peeling grey and black paint, cracked wood and dirty window all lent it an overall shabby appearance. The weird thing about it however, were the black and green statues with prominent gears and exhaust pipes that were stationed at the corners of the front porch.

Batman alighted on a nearby ledge to observe his quarry.

The trio of thugs strolled casually up to the door and the slammed his fist into the door a few times before loudly calling out.

"Oi! You in there, time to contribute to Penguins neighborhood protection fund!"

Then the three thugs yelped as the armored clockwork statues _blurred_ into motion, and suddenly bladed fingers were resting at throats, and steel fists grasping elbows, knees, and heads. The door slowly creeped open to reveal a white haired, middle aged man in a suit, who seemed just a little too thin, a little too stiff, a little too… _Mechanical_ …

Then the man spoke, his voice monotone and smooth.

"It seems that plebeians such as yourselves are not aware of a particular fact. The super villains of this city and I have by and large come to an agreement. They all leave me alone, and I don't kill them. It is a very simple arrangement, one that has been tested on occasion, but is still quite functional. So you say you work for Penguin?"

The lead thug gave a terrified confirmatory whimper, prompting the man in the suit to lean closer.

"Oh dear, you claiming to work for a man that I have a small measure of respect for is the only reason your getting off this porch alive. If it turns out you _don't_ work for Penguin, then he will end up killing you. But if you do, tell Penguin that the only reason he's survived thus far is because he had the intelligence not to anger me. Now, if he wants that to change he could have just said so. But, if he doesn't, tell him that he should come by my place with the usual apology, plus a few marker for some free meals at the Iceberg. Is that clear?"

The lead thug gave another terrified whimper, the man in the suit smiled woodenly.

"Break all of their arms and then let them go, make sure its a clean break however. We wouldn't want to leave Penguin without the services of such _intelligent men_ for very long, now would we?"

Then the man turned without a backwards glance as his statues quickly and cleanly snapped each mans arms before gently, at least for 12 foot clockwork automatons, pushing them off the porch and away from the house.

And finally the door closed behind the white haired man in the suit, and the things in the green and black armor went back to their original positions.

And Batman… Batman was thoroughly, thoroughly confused.

 _Scene Break_

Batman swopped down onto the roof opposite the Iceberg lounge and waited. He had installed a dozen eavesdropping devices in the lounge earlier that week for a previous case that hadn't panned out, and rather then removing them he had left them there, and now the caped crusader was glad he had. Otherwise this would have to become a smash and grab for any information that he could get. He refocused as the three thugs walked in, their arms already in casts.

' _We need to talk to the boss._ '

Came the crackling reply over the static.

The bouncer outside took one look at the thugs sorry state and nodded, before ushering them inside. His earpiece continued to pick up the occasional snatch of conversation until they reached the central balcony where Penguin sat, gorging himself on cold fish.

 _'_ _W'ot the hell 'appened to you three?'_

The pause before one of the injured men replied was obvious as he mustered up the courage to speak.

 _'_ _I… I think we screwed up boss.'_

There was another few moment of intense silence before Penguin growled in a way that the Dark knight had rarely heard from cobblepot, his voice had become a throbbing, gravely mixture of fear and white hot rage.

 _'_ _W'ot did you do, c'os if you did what I think you did, we're all dead.'_

Then there was the sound of one penguins other men forcing their way forward and speaking up.

 _'_ _What the hell are we all talking about her boss? Tony and his guys come back tuned up like this, and we stand here talking about what else is going to happen? Why aren't we going out there and smashing some skulls together?'_

There was a long, drawn out, scratchy sigh, and then Penguin spoke again.

 _'_ _The man Tony a'n his boys just tried to rob is the most feared person in Gotham for the caped and cowled crowd. E's also the best kept secret, but only because e wants it that way. They arrived in Gotham three years ago. And in that time, they've single and'idly managed to ensure that not a single member of Batman's enemies would try to use him, or take is' things.'_

There was a scoff that came clear over the earpiece.

' _Why in the hell not? One of those mech suits could let us take this city, you cant tell me that Joker never tried to get at that tech.'_

There was a few moments of silence before Penguin began laughing, his gravely voice loud and strident, so much so that the caped crusader could hear his laughter outside the Iceberg Lounge, from his perch on the building opposite.

 _'_ _Your right! I can't tell you that the Joker never tried to, because he did, and he was ejected by security with a crushed collarbone, a punctured lung, 6 snapped ribs and other internal injuries. We've_ ** _tried_** _. Every rogue has. The riddler has spent most of the last three years trying to find some tech that works to destroy those mechs he uses, but hasn't found anything. Everyone has tried. E' gives everyone chance, and then if they come bak, well… You remember Fish Moony?'_

 _'…_ _That was him?'_

Batman blinked. The disappearance of Fish Moody two and a half years ago had been one of the biggest mysteries of his career, and definitely the biggest that was still unsolved.

Batman needed to get to the bottom of this. He put his earpiece back into his utility belt and left, heading back towards the mysterious mansion.

It was a shame, if the dark knight had waited another minute, he would have heard Penguin ordering the execution of the three men who had attempted to rob the mysterious mech-master. Penguin would send The man in the suit the thumbs and tongues of the offenders, and then hope that would that it would make them even.

 _Scene Break_

Batman swooped to the second floor of the mansion, and tried the window.

He blinked. For what is supposedly an impenetrable fortress, it was way too easy to get in.

He slowly moved through the room, it appeared to be a room of the unfinished constructs, the massive creatures missing parts, an arm here, a leg there, a paint job on some of the more completed ones.

Batman had made it to the end the room, and then out of the corner of his eye, partially obscured behind a set of of unfinished golems was a familiar face, he whirled, batarang falling into his hand.

Standing in the corner was the man in the suit, frozen and still. His plastic and shiny smile unmoving.

Doll-like.

And after a few moments after which the man in the suit, with his wide grey eyes didn't move, Batman realized he _was_ a doll.

He stepped forward, nearing closer to the life-sized doll, and just has his finger brushed it, there was a blue of movement, and Batman found himself pinned by a trio of the black armored machines.

There was a rustling, an electric zap and a crash before the Dark Knight heard a faint _'god-dammit!'_

And then footsteps as someone made their way into the room, the door creaked open, and in walked a young teen girl in jeans a t-shirt, with white, paint stained smock, and red frizzy hair that exploded out from her head in all directions.

The teens eyes widened enormously, and then she screamed.

"Jeeves! Get up here now!"

There was a blur and the same man that batman had seen before, and who looked identical to the unmoving version in the workshop, came to a stop next to the girl who turned, glaring, and pointed at Batman.

"Jeeves! What the hell is this!? How did the freaking Batman get in here? More importantly, _why in gods name is he here?_ "

The so-named Jeeves merely smiled.

"I dealt with a small number of riff-raff early tonight miss, I imagine that he was watching as I did."

The red-headed teen was rubbing at her temples as she replied, her tone dead, and monotone, making the question sound more like a statement.

"Did you use the door sentries."

Jeeves shrugged stiffly and nodded. The red-heads face contorted as she forced down her reaction to a mere snarl before finally replying.

"Fine. Began Pack Rat procedures, once thats done institute Cole protocols. Once everything is evacuated, we enact scorched earth. Clear?"

Jeeves frowned briefly, snapped a salute, and became a blur again, as the house came to life. Figures of every style coming to life, jumping off walls and detaching themselves from plaster and wood. Even the house itself seemed to groan and start ticking with gears.

Batman raised his head as the teen began smoothing her hair down as she dragged a chair next to him, and then sat down.

"Now, what am I going to do with you?"

 _Next time on - War Jack_

"I came to Gotham with nothing and no one."

…

"Joker? If that psychopath ever comes near me again, I'll kill him like a vampire. Chop of his head, stake his heart, and then burn everything to ash."

…

"The rest of the villains and I came to an agreement one way or another, they don't come near me, and I don't kill them, and everything and everyone they love.

 _Authors Note._

Story I made partially for Halloween. Might make this into a idea vault for Young Justice, since this will only be another couple chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter two - War jack_

The red head gazed apathetically at the incapacitated cape crusader as the mansion around her continued its grinding progress towards whatever plans she had.

The young teen on the other hand just sighed.

"Why are you here Batman?"

The dark knight grunted, trying to shift his weight so he could get to a gadget in his belt as he replied.

"I was here to investigate who the thugs your butler faced earlier today, and then the clockwork golems caught my attention. I tailed the thugs back to Penguin, and heard a little bit about you. Did you kill Fish Mooney?"

The red head shrugged as she began straightening her hair, running her fingers through the crimson locks.

"Sort of. I gave Fish a bunch of chances to leave me alone, but the idiot kept pushing, until eventually I had to institute a three strike rule that became the rule for everyone who tries to infiltrate or steal from me."

The red head sighed.

"And, well… Eventually I had to say enough, and I went to war against Fish. And I dealt with most of her organization in one night."

Batman scowled at her, causing her to flinch before she glared right back.

"Really? What did you expect? I don't want to get involved in any of the super powered stupidity that seems to run rampant around here, and Fish at the time was to big for the cops to take so I wasn't just going to drop some unconscious bodies at the police station. They were escalating, so I had to put them down before they started shooting up the neighbor hood or lighting stuff on fire."

Batman shook his head, and glanced around at some of the moving mechs, before asking his next question.

"What are your machines doing?"

A shrug.

"I enacted everyone one of my emergency relocation protocols, so right now, we're packing up every bit and piece of my tech, erasing or destroying everything that we can't carry with us, and then when all is said and done, I'm gonna bleach everything, and then blow the house sky high and erase any forensics."

Batman felt both his eyebrows raise.

"You would go to that much effort?"

The red scoffed as she picked up a nearby cog-wheel and idly began spinning it between her fingers.

"Of course. Your rogues, while I've come to arraignments with many of them, might still get the idea that if Ive moved, my security nets might not be as tight. In order to discourage that, I'll blow the crap out of the house, and hopefully that will discourage people like Riddler, Catwoman, or god forbid Joker from trying to track me."

Batman relaxed as he realized he wasn't able to reach any of his hidden gadgets. He was in for the long haul, so might as well get as much information as he possibly could out of her.

"When did you meet Riddler ?"

"I met Riddler a few weeks after I first moved in, after the first time I dealt with the Joker. Riddler showed up with a couple of thugs and an EMP. Still have no idea how he got it, but since my mechs don't run of electrical systems it didn't do anything, my mech broke a few of his bones and tossed him out."

The red head leaned back in her chair, a contemplative look in her eyes.

"Why are you asking me all these questions?"

Batman shrugged as best as he was able to.

"Im pinned. Your machines are beginning evacuation, so Im trying to get as much information as I possibly can."

"Why?"

"To determine wether or not your a threat."

The red head sighed frustratedly.

"Im not, after I'm done evacuating, ill let you go."

Batman just stared, causing another sight to interrupt.

"Fine, how bout I give you some information, but you agree not to go after me?"

"Fine." Batman grunted. "So who are you?"

Yet another shrug.

"I usually make Jeeves act as my body double, but I'm known as the man in the suit, the clockwork king, the mechanist, and many other titles. Personally I prefer War Jack."

There was an odd silence that fell over the room, the wind dying down at the mere declaration of that name. The sudden silence and stillness was broken after a minute by the Dark Knight asking another question.

"When did you come to Gotham? And how did you meet Joker?"

War Jack scowled at the mention of the clown.

"I came to Gotham just over three years ago, I came here with nothing, but I found this place."

Jack gestured at the surroundings, the ticking walls, and the moving machines.

"It was already filled with a specialists clock repair and forge tools. I never knew who's they were or where they went, but whoever it is, I owe them big time. Without all of the stuff they had, theres no way I would have been able to build all of my friends."

She patted one of the nearby machines that was pinning batman fondly on its armored side. After a few moments Jack considered the next part of the question.

"Joker… I met Joker for the first time 4 months after I came to Gotham, and I thank any deity listening, my lucky stars, and whatever karma I had saved up at that point that I already had created enough mechs for security. Because if I hadn't, the Joker would h ave captured me and tortured the secrets for Jack creation out of me."

"Jacks?"

War Jack gestured to the nearest machine.

"Its what these are called. War Jacks. Or Jack. Each one is a war machine in its own right. Each one a tool for destruction. And Joker has tried every method he could think of to try and steal them from me, eventually his attempts became too extreme and I was forced to give him an ultimatum."

Batman felt his eyebrows raise at the idea that someone could give the Joker an ultimatum and actually have it stick.

"And what was Jokers ultimatum?"

A snarl plastered itself across Jacks face.

"Joker? If that psychopath ever comes near me again, I'll kill him like a vampire. Chop of his head, stake his heart, and then burn everything to ash."

Batman blinked.

"What about the other rogues?"

The question prompted a smile from the teen.

"For the most part, they're actually sweethearts. Ivy likes my mechs because they don't pollute, Catwoman makes sure I've eaten my vegetables fo some reason whenever I see her for some reason and Doctor Freeze likes talking over designs with me. Riddlers kind of annoying, and Penguin is too terrified of me to try anything. Other then them, I haven't met any of your other villains and I didn't want to meet the ones that I have."

Batman followed up his question, so far, it seemed like the teen just was happy to have someone living to talk to.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Jack leaned back in her chair.

"Now? Now, I evacuate, head to one of my hidey holes in another city, and you don't follow me. I have no desire to get in the middle of all the crap you capes get up to on a daily basis. All I want is to be left alone to tinker."

"What if I told you there was another way?"

Jack scoffed.

"Like what? I told you I refuse to involve myself in your petty disputes."

"The Justice League has been considering putting together a team for the sidekicks, a covert ops team, for quite a while now. You could be a member."

Jacks eyebrows rose, as despite herself she considered it, and she continued to listen as Batman explained, eventually when she released the Dark Knight, they continued to speak. And eventually, Batman handed War Jack a card with an address, and gave her one final nod before he disappeared into the night.

 _Authors Note_

OH MY GOD! To much dialogue! Not a fan of this chapter, only one or two more, and then I'm probably gonna turn it into an idea vault. Also posting the beginnings of a vault for RWBY.


End file.
